1. What would a second victory against the Heat in 8 days mean for the Pacers?

Sam Amick, USA TODAY Sports:

The Pacers’ not-so-quiet confidence may make it sound like they’ve solved the riddle that is the two-time defending champion Heat, but they haven’t. They need the smaller victories like the one last week to keep building on the mental foundation, to make it a matter of routine that they play their way and come out on top no matter the opponent. And especially this particular foe.

A win on Wednesday night in Miami would give Indiana another morsel of momentum in what is – LeBron’s opinion notwithstanding – one of the best rivalries going in the NBA. Indiana lost three of the four games that were in Miami during their seven-game loss to the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, so there is certainly room for improvement here. Besides, it’s about more than just the Heat for the Pacers these days – it’s about becoming dominant again. They’ve lost three of seven games after starting 16-1, dropping games to Portland, Oklahoma City and Detroit.

Ian Levy, Hickory High:

A certain amount of pride and satisfaction would come with a win on the road and obviously the Pacers want to take every opportunity they can to separate themselves from the Heat in their quest for the Eastern Conference’s top seed. But in terms of psychological impact the scale is small. The Pacers have already proved, repeatedly, that they can go toe-to-toe with the Heat and neither a double-digit win or a double-digit loss would change that. They believe that and Miami knows it as well. But no matter how this game plays out, the scales will still be tilted in the Heat’s favor -- they’re the champions and they won the last game against the Pacers that really mattered.

Indiana could sweep Miami in the regular season and still not prove a thing. The statement they really want to make against the Heat can only be made by closing them out in the playoffs. Everything else is just posturing for the big fight.

Sean Highkin, USA TODAY Sports:

It will mean the Pacers have won two regular-season games against the Heat. Which team has the upper hand in the rivalry will be decided by what happens in the playoffs, and I’m not betting against LeBron James there. But dominating the regular-season series will give Indiana confidence heading into their eventual playoff matchup.

2. If you switched Lebron James and Paul George and had them play for opposite teams would the Heat be a legitimate title contender?

Sam Amick:

They’d need to go shopping for a playmaker or two, as James has no peers when it comes to his absurd skillset and his ability to control the offensive action would certainly need to be replaced. James leads the Heat in assists by a large margin (6.5 per game compared to Mario Chalmers’ 4.7) and his usage rate (percentage of team plays used by a player when he is on the floor, per NBA.com/stats) of 29.8 is ranked sixth in the league among starters.

Translation: George (3.5 assists per game, usage rate of 28.4 that is ranked 10th in the league among starters) wouldn’t be a good fit for the Heat and they would likely lose that championship contender status. With a few roster changes aimed at complementing George’s game, however, they’d be right back near the top.

Ian Levy: Absolutely, although a slightly less threatening one. The Heat’s defense would be at least as devastating with George shouldering LeBron’s responsibilities. The issues would come at the offensive end where systems would need to be tweaked to account for the drop-off in creative playmaking from LeBron to George. But the Heat’s roster is built around the idea of flexibility. The way they’ve been arranged around LeBron could be reshuffled to make other dangerous structures. With a little more ball-handling responsibilities for Wade, a few more elbow touches for Bosh and a little more off-ball work for George, the Heat could certainly create a rough facsimile of their current level of efficiency.

Sean Highkin:

Yes, but the Pacers would become the heavy favorites. George would be a great fit for the Heat on the wing — he can shoot, drive and defend. But if Roy Hibbert could mostly keep LeBron out of the paint in the Eastern Conference Finals, why would George have any more success? On the other hand, LeBron and Hibbert as an inside-outside defensive combination? That’s not fair.

3. What’s the future of the Pacers-Heat rivalry?

Sam Amick:

Here’s the bad news for both teams and hoops fans the world over regardless of who wins the latest faceoff: this little slice of basketball bliss may be gone before we know it.

As you surely have read or heard by now, LeBron has the ability to be a free agent and is widely expected to opt out and reassess his situation for the future. His situation, of course, will have a ripple effect on his cohorts, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, as they decide whether to opt out of their deals.

The heavy odds at the moment would be with James staying near South Beach – especially with the way some of the competing teams (i.e. Cleveland, the Lakers) are hardly running top-notch recruiting campaigns – but one never knows what might happen between now and July. As for the Pacers, this group will be battling together for the foreseeable future.

Roy Hibbert and David West can become free agents two summers from now, while George Hill is signed through 2016-2017 and Paul George signed a five-year extension last summer (through 2019). The lone point of concern for Pacers management is fourth-year shooting guard Lance Stephenson, who has become a major part of their elite operation and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Ian Levy:

Hopefully the immediate future of this rivalry is seven more games of legacy building in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Sean Highkin:

The rivalry will be compelling for as long as both teams are among the NBA’s elite. The best rivalries are built on playoff battles, and the Heat and Pacers have played two memorable series in the last two years. It seems completely inevitable that they’ll meet in the Eastern Conference Finals again this year. The teams match up well with each other and feature a variety of likable and elite players between them. There’s no reason they can’t be the east’s answer to the Lakers and Spurs of the mid-2000s.